Police log

Man, 71, charged with battery on officer

INWOOD, W.Va. - A 71-year-old man was charged with battery on a police officer after a sheriff's deputy was pushed in the chest outside of a convenience store Sunday, according to court papers.

Olan D. Hott, who listed an address in Stephenson, Va., on court paperwork, was arraigned on the misdemeanor charge Monday. He remained in Eastern Regional Jail on $5,000 bail.

According to court records, Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy M.W. Rephann stopped at the Inwood 7-Eleven at about 11 p.m. to buy a bottle of Gatorade, but had to leave the store after realizing he forgot his wallet. Hott approached Rephann outside, asking that he remove a man Hott said was doing drugs in his home. Hott said he lived on W.Va. 51, records show.

As Rephann explained the process of how to remove an individual from a home, Hott became angry and started cussing, records allege. When Rephann asked Hott why he was swearing, Hott turned around, put both hands on Rephann's chest and pushed him, records allege.

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A conviction of battery on a police officer carries a possible sentence of from one to 12 months in jail.

Jewelry, camera stolen from Pa. home

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Jewelry and a video camera were among the items reported stolen Thursday in a residential burglary in Chambersburg, according to borough police.

Police said the East Washington Street home was entered through a window between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The stolen jewelry included a 10-karat gold necklace with a Puerto Rico pendant, a 14-karat gold necklace with a diamond cross pendant, a men's 14-karat gold rope style bracelet, a men's 18-karat gold rope necklace with gold cross, a Sony video camera in a black case and loose change.

Monday fire damages basement apartment

RIPPON, W.Va. - A fire that started in a basement apartment of a house in Rippon Monday caused about $25,000 damage, a fire official said.

It was not clear what started the fire, said Ed Smith, chief of the Independent Fire Co.

Firefighters contained the fire to a bedroom, Smith said.

The house, which is owned by Delores Coats, is on Hunter Hollow Road off U.S. 340, Smith said.

Fire crews received the call at about 12:20 p.m., dispatchers said.

Toddler remains in serious condition

A 3-year-old Baltimore girl remained in serious condition Monday at Children's National Medical Center following a near drowning Saturday in the lake at Greenbrier State Park east of Hagerstown.

Sequoia Rantin was flown by helicopter to the hospital in Washington, D.C., Ranger Bob Haney said.

Park lifeguards, with the help of doctors and nurses who were visiting the park, revived the child after she was carried from the lake by a woman who saw her under the water.

Ambulances from Boonsboro and Mount Aetna responded to the call, Haney said. An ambulance took the child to a field near the lake, where the helicopter landed.

The girl was picnicking in the park with a group of family members including her mother, Vernea Rantin, and her grandmother, Katheryn Orallo, Haney said.

Fire marshals probe Hancock house fire

The Maryland State Fire Marshal's office was trying to determine the cause of a fire that damaged an unoccupied two-story single-family house in Hancock Monday morning, spokesman Allen Gosnell said.

The house was owned by Fairview Orchard Growers Inc., the fire marshal's office said.

The loss was estimated at $5,000, the office said in a news release. The fire was at 5:05 a.m. at 12823 Willow Road, Hancock.

A few rooms suffered smoke damage but the building was still standing, he said.